4 years ago on a beautiful October day, Nick Nolander was hiking Mt. Shavano near Salida, Colorado. Despite Shavano being a 14,000 ft mountain, Nick didn’t find it more challenging than many of his other hikes. He eventually made it to the top, but it was getting late. Although knowing better, Nick got in a rush and decided to take a shortcut down the mountain.

“I got lost and I spent the night making my way down the mountain, trying not to impale myself on a tree limb. The wind chill was pretty brutal and there was a decent amount of snow everywhere. I tried to stay warm, but my feet got wet. When I made it back to my car, at 6 am, those were the last steps I ever took.”

Severe frostbite took both Nick’s feet. He spent the next 40 days at the hospital.

“I’m fortunate I made it out alive.”

Nick has two boys, 6 and 4 years old, and one of his biggest fears was not being able to keep up, and having to give up a lot of plans and dreams he has for them – simply because of his disability.

“I wanted to be just like my dad and run ahead of them, be a leader for them and set an example for them.”

Since Nick has started running, he feels stronger and more confident in his everyday life, subsequently overcoming all fears that he won’t be able to take part in his sons’ active lives.

“It has emboldened me to feel confident that I’ll be able to keep up with my kids and be there running beside them as they’re playing soccer, going on a hike or running themselves.”

Overcoming those fears and doubts, on top of being a fairly recent amputee, has taught Nick that everyone has their own disability in their own way. Some disabilities are just easier to spot than others.

“I try to share the message: be really slow before you judge somebody because you don’t know what their past might be. I’m fortunate in some ways because I get to share my message and people applaud me for overcoming what I’ve overcome, but not everyone gets that.”